At the 2016 Academy Awards ceremony, which of the following film directors won the Oscar for Best Director?

Introduction / Context:
The Best Director category at the Oscars honours the filmmaker whose direction has had a major impact on the year cinema. In 2016, the award season highlighted several strong contenders, but one director stood out by winning the Best Director Oscar for the film The Revenant. This question checks whether you can correctly identify that director, Alejandro G. Inarritu, from a list of other prominent filmmakers.

Given Data / Assumptions:
- The focus is the 2016 Academy Awards and specifically the Best Director category.
- Options include Alejandro G. Inarritu, Adam McKay, George Miller, Tom McCarthy, and Ridley Scott.
- We assume knowledge that The Revenant was a major film that year and that Inarritu had already won Best Director the previous year for Birdman.

Concept / Approach:
The key concept is matching directors to films and award years. Alejandro G. Inarritu achieved a rare back to back Best Director win, first for Birdman and then for The Revenant. In the 2016 ceremony, he won again, making headlines. Adam McKay was associated with The Big Short, George Miller with Mad Max Fury Road, Tom McCarthy with Spotlight, and Ridley Scott with films like The Martian, but none of them won Best Director that year. Remembering that Inarritu directed The Revenant and won the directing prize is central to answering this question.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Identify that the question asks for the Best Director Oscar winner at the 2016 ceremony.
Step 2: Recall that The Revenant was a major contender and that Alejandro G. Inarritu directed it.
Step 3: Remember the news highlight that he became one of the few directors to win back to back directing Oscars.
Step 4: Recognise that while Adam McKay, George Miller, and Tom McCarthy received nominations and other recognition, they did not win Best Director that year.
Step 5: Ridley Scott is a renowned director but was not the recipient of the 2016 Best Director Oscar, confirming that Alejandro G. Inarritu is the correct choice.

Verification / Alternative check:
A quick revision table might associate 2015 Birdman with Inarritu and 2016 The Revenant with Inarritu again, emphasising the unusual back to back win. Cross checking with summaries of the 88th Academy Awards, which list him as the Best Director winner, provides further confirmation.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Adam McKay directed The Big Short and was nominated for Best Director, but he did not win the Oscar in 2016.

George Miller directed Mad Max Fury Road, which won many technical awards, yet the directing award went to another filmmaker.

Tom McCarthy directed Spotlight, which won Best Picture, but he did not receive the Best Director statuette that year.

Ridley Scott is a veteran director known for films such as Gladiator and The Martian, but he was not awarded Best Director at the 2016 Oscars.

Common Pitfalls:
Examinees sometimes confuse the film that wins Best Picture with the film whose director wins Best Director, assuming they must always match. In 2016, Spotlight won Best Picture while Inarritu won Best Director for The Revenant. Confusing these categories or focusing only on which film won Best Picture can lead to an incorrect choice.

Final Answer:
The Oscar for Best Director at the 2016 Academy Awards went to Alejandro G. Inarritu.